Though the phrases “victim of fate” and “victim of ambition” hardly seem consistent with Macbeth’s character, there are definitely elements of both fate and ambition involved in his life. While it seems that Macbeth may have always possessed the desire to be king, it is not until he meets the three witches and hears their prophesies that the ball is set in motion and his ambition comes to light. Once this meeting with the witches takes place, various instances of both fate and ambition mold Macbeth’s character and the events within the play. By the end of the play, though Macbeth is affected by his wife’s ambition and the prophetic words of the witches, and though fate is not necessarily kind to him, it is his own ambition that is the ultimate guiding force of his downfall.
Upon meeting the three witches in I, iii, Macbeth says “stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (Shakespeare 1.3.70) about his future as Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. It is immediately apparent that the witches’ words have piqued his interest and awakened his sense of ambition, as “once the witches promise him the crown, he can no longer silence the voice of his ambition” (Bloom 24). He questions the witches, wanting them to tell him how these events will transpire. Macbeth could have chosen not to give the witches credence, but he does give them credence and becomes fixated on their words and what they mean. In stark contrast, “Banquo, [who is] able to temper [his] ambition,” (Thrasher 93) is offered comparatively fateful news and does not use it for ill will, which shows that people control their destiny through control of their actions.
Macbeth further proves that he is ambitious through his aside after Duncan names Malcolm “The Prince of Cumberland.” In this aside, Macbeth states, “That is a step / on which I must fall down or else o’er leap, / for in my way it lies” (1.5.49-51). These lines signify just how ambitious Macbeth is, and that he realizes he will have to use excessive force to achieve his goal of becoming king. With such thoughts in mind, Macbeth more than likely considers killing Malcolm because he too is an impediment to Macbeth’s ambitions. Brian Vickers and J.P. Kemble would obviously agree since they state that “Macbeth does not mediate the deaths of Banquo and Macduff through personal fear of them, but because his ambition renders the former obnoxious to his envy, and the latter his hatred” (433). As a result, Malcolm’s flight to England proved to be a wise move.
Another instance in which Macbeth exhibits his ambitious nature is through his letter to Lady Macbeth. He knows that she will provoke him to take the measures necessary to become king even if he does not have enough gumption to take action on his own. In reference to the letter stating the witches’ prophesies for Macbeth, when Macbeth changes his mind about the killing, Lady Macbeth reminds him that the concept of killing Duncan, if not the actual plan, is his idea, stating “What beast was ‘t then, / that made you break this enterprise to me?” (1.7.48-49) Though Macbeth may regret writing this letter to his wife at different intervals throughout the play, or possibly regret the weight that the letter carries, he is at least ambitious enough to write it in the first place.
A bit later in the play in III, i, after Macbeth kills Duncan and becomes king, he again considers the witches’ prophesies. He decides that he must kill Banquo and Banquo’s son, Fleance, in order to protect his crown “and give [himself and Lady Macbeth] complete security” (McCallum 49). This time, without the help of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth ambitiously plans these murders and succeeds in having the murder of Banquo, at least, carried out. In fact, Macbeth wants his wife completely ignorant of his plans and insists, “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest Chuck, / Till thou applaud the deed” (3.2.48-49) Additionally, Macbeth proves he is in control of the situation and aware of the evil of his actions when he says, “Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill” (3.2.58). This methodical plan to murder Banquo and Fleance proves what Lady Macbeth believes about her husband. According to McCallum, Lady Macbeth believes that Macbeth already possesses the ambition, he just needs to have a bit of wickedness in order to do what needs to be done (21). And as Edward E. Foster states, murdering Duncan in order to gain the crown is a “possibility [that] has been discussed before (par. 10). Apparently, through the previous act of murdering Duncan, Macbeth learned to be wicked.
Macbeth shows his continued ambitious nature with each visit that he makes to see the witches. Indeed, “the man who comes in” toward the end of the play “is a man dedicated to evil” (Scott 61). The Macbeth who visits the witches in IV, i, is so bold and ambitious that he says, “even if the entire world falls apart as a result, he wants answers to some questions” regarding his future as king (61). Fate may be the cause of Macbeth’s initial contact with the witches, but his own ambition causes him to continue to seek them out. Further, as stated in Foster’s essay entitled “Macbeth,” “the witches do not control behavior in the play….They are merely a poignant external symbol of the ambition that is already within Macbeth” (par. 10). Therefore, as Macbeth continues to demand prophetic information from the witches, he has no one to blame but himself for his actions.
Conversely, while it is most definitely ambition that leads Macbeth to commit the first murder as well as the subsequent murders, in some ways it is a bit of fate as well. After all, it is an odd twist of fate that allows Duncan to be a guest in their house the very night that Lady Macbeth receives the letter from her husband and decides that he will have to be killed. Indeed, “Lady Macbeth is exultant” (McCallum 21) by the news of Duncan’s arrival, and she feels that this is an opportunity that must not be missed (21). Further, William Hazlitt states that Macbeth “is tempted to the commission of guilt by golden opportunities,” (par. 8) and this fortuitous visit from Duncan might be what he is referring to.
Additionally, had Lady Macbeth killed Duncan herself as she said she might, Macbeth would have had very little to do with his murder, and he might not have felt the need to continue on this murderous course. However, Lady Macbeth is apparently affected by Duncan’s resemblance to her father, stating “had he not resembled / my father as he slept, I had done’t” (2.2 12-13). This lack of action on Lady Macbeth’s part forces Macbeth to carry out the deed of murdering Duncan himself, which could be the catalyst for the rest of the murders.
If Macbeth is a victim of any sort in this play, he is the victim of his wife’s ambition and the witches’ initial prophesies. After all, it is his wife who, “by repeatedly questioning his manhood” (Bloom 24), provokes and manipulates Macbeth into killing Duncan when he seems reluctant to do so. In one of the last conversations between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth before Duncan’s murder, she says, “Wouldst though have that / which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, ‘/ and live a coward in thine own esteem?” (1.7.42-44) And then she uses guilt to manipulate Macbeth when she adds that if she had known the type of cowardly man Macbeth would become, she would have killed any child they may have parented by plucking her nipple “from his boneless gums / [dashing] the brains out” 1.7.58-59). Additionally, “Lady Macbeth plans the murder of Duncan, frames Duncan’s servants for the murder, and keeps up appearances when the murder is discovered” (24). Though Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his own actions, the continuous personal attacks and provocation from his wife more than likely leave him feeling as though he has little choice but to carry out the murder of Duncan. Further, the witches’ “oracular pronouncements encourage [Macbeth’s] slide into tyranny,” and from Macbeth’s first meeting with the witches, “their prophesy galvanizes [his] ambition” (24). However, as John Elsom states, “the extent to which a man is in charge of his fate is a central theme of Macbeth, in which the prophetic powers of the witches suggest that all human history is predestined, yet Macbeth himself conspires in his own destruction” (par. 13). Therefore, in the end, Macbeth’s downfall is the product of his own ambition.
In conclusion, though Macbeth is not so much a victim as he is a perpetrator, he is definitely affected by both fate and ambition. He is ambitious enough to murder people in order to get what he wants and ill-fated enough to have a few negative circumstances fall into place to follow through on his ambitions. Though the ambition appears to have been a part of Macbeth all along, the elements of fate encourage him to do the things he would not have willingly done otherwise. In the end, the instances of fate and ambition culminate in his eventual downfall.
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